NIGHTWING: If I were in the DC Universe
by lester923
Summary: If I were Dick Grayson, who is also known as Nightwing, what would happen in DC Universe? I added my own imagination to the story in the comics. Hope you like it!
1. Prologue

Prologue

My name is Dick Grayson. Maybe you know my secret identity- Nightwing. Well, WELL, I'd better repeat my story.

I was born in Harley's Circus. My parents were both popular acrobats: After my sixth birthday, I joined them and we three became "The Flying Graysons". It seemed to be a perfect experience, right? Well, three years later when I was eight, my parents were killed in an accident- their ropes were cut by someone and they fell down from the platform twenty-three feet high. I could never forget the scream of audiences when accident happened. Fortunately, I met Bruce Wayne, the wealthiest man in Gotham, whose parents were killed when he was also eight. He adopted me and _regave_ me a family. After that, I accidentally discovered his secret that he was the Batman! I could not believe my eyes when I found the entrance to the Batcave behind the old block, which Alfred cleaned everyday.

Then my life as Robin started. Bruce trained me as a coach while he raised me as a father. It was really simple for me to complete the training because I had the experience as a flyer in Harley's circus. Sooner or later, I largely replaced Alfred as the assistant for Batman in Batcave. However, although I'd asked Bruce for millions of times, he had never brought me out at night when he played the role as Batman. Well, what could I do? I just obeyed his orders, sitting in front of the huge screen in Batcave- at least, he was the hero who protected Gotham; I was only an assistant.

My first actual battle was one year after when I became Robin. Batman was fighting against the Poison Ivy, you know, the beautiful and sexy lady covered by leaves- that was my first impression of her. It seemed that Poison Ivy was trying to kill Bruce- almost all criminals in Arkham wanted to do this- and indeed, she was so well-prepared that Bruce almost died in that battle because of loss of blood. When I received Bruce's alarm, I immediately got on my own motor, ignoring Alfred's dissuasion. My first time to go through the cascade in the front of Batcave was, uh, awesome! I could imagine Bruce's feeling when he firstly drove automobilia out the cave. I thought I was prepared enough to face Batman's enemies such as the Poison Ivy, Penguin, but I was wrong. I was still too immature and frail. When I reached the street, Bruce was seized by the green ivies from the lady; I didn't know whether he could hold on. I threw my Batarangs to the ivies, just like what how Bruce trained me in the cave, yet they were all resisted by Poison Ivy. "I've been always eager to collect a Batarang, and thanks to your assistant, Batman, I got it." Said Ivy. She was shaking the batarangs in front of Bruce and me. Bruce raised his head, staring at Ivy, said: "He is Robin, the boy wonder." Poison Ivy laughed, put down Bruce and went in front of me, laughed: "Thanks, little boy. I expect our next meeting." Then she left with the green ivies.

Bruce raised up, staring at me, and said: "Let's go home.". He sighed.

"I... I just wanted to help, Batman. I... I..." I knew I had disappointed him.

"I said go home." Bruce interrupted me. "Now get into the car."

Silence. Silence. I got into the car, daring not to look at Bruce.


	2. Chapter 1 (1)

Chapter 1

I had been away from Gotham for over two years. I had a conflict with Bruce Wayne. I could no longer stand his so-called lofty moral principle. I eventually got the reason why Bruce had no girlfriend, or, at least, friend except Alfred, Jason, and I: He always insisted on his own principle and prohibited me to do what I wanted to do. C'mon! I had my freedom, and why the hell Bruce wanted to deprive me of my own freedom to do things I like. After several quarrels, Bruce fired me as Robin and passed the identity to Jason, a new boy Bruce adopted, while I had no bias on Jason.

After that night, though Alfred, Barbara, Jason tried to stop me, I left Wayne Abbey. I could still find my own world in another city, so I went to Bludhaven where I got help from Blue Beetle. I made myself a new name: Nightwing. I thought that was a process of growing; I was no long the boy wonder who was actually Jason Todd now. I acted as an obligating cop in Bludhaven, and an excellent detective, like what Bruce Wayne did in Gotham. But I started to feel lonely. Meanwhile, the criminals in Bludhaven were becoming increasingly rampant. I needed assistants, just like Batman needed Robin.

My first aim was Cyborg, so as his parents named him. His real name was Victor Stone. I knew him when I was Robin: His parents are both engineers in Wayne Enterprise, exactly, in STAR Lab, and I was Vic's classmate in Gotham High School. Vic, in my memory before that accident, was tall, almost taller than Bruce, playing football in school team, and he was regarded as the most promising athlete in the team. However, just one year after entering school team, Vic was badly injured in a serious fire- in fact, if Batman and Robin had not found him lying on the floor, surrounded by thick smog and toxic chemicals, he would have been killed in the fire. Exactly speaking, Bruce and I just saved part of his body including his head, heart, a part of arms- damn, why I mentioned that! I thought the fire would a life-long nightmare to Victor- if he could dream. For saving their son, the Stones couple stole one of the most cutting edge technologies, a metal bionics armor, from Wayne Enterprise and installed it onto Victor's fragmentary body.

Victor knew Dick Grayson, but he didn't know Dick is Robin or Nightwing. When I found him, he was watching news about Justice League- after he became Cyborg, Bruce introduced him to Justice League, a team full of adult superheroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and others (Bruce had never told me about the League). As a living computer, Cyborg could easily control the huge computer in Justice League and he quickly became the main assistant for those heroes.

"Hi, Cyborg, haven't seen you for a long time." I greeted to him.

"Oh. Hey! Nightwing." He replied. "What's up?"

"Well, uh... Let me see where I can start." I sit down in front of him. "I need your help. Uh, exactly, I need a lot of people's help. Well, actually, I want to set up a new group with teen heroes."

"Sorry, dude, I'm afraid you find wrong guy. I am already a member of Justice League." Cyborg shook his half-metal head.

"C'MON, Vic. I'm not making mischief. But I really need you, your computer, your power, your calculating brain."

"What's the plan?" Said Vic. "At least, you should tell me your plan."

"Well, there are another three guys." I turned up my laptop, showing Cyborg pictures. "This green boy whose real name is Garfield is generally named Beast Boy, and his superpower, just like his name, is to change his appearance into animals. By the way, he is a vegetarian." I laughed. "This guy: Aqualad. He is the young assistant of Aquaman, king of Atlantis and major member of Justice League. This one, Raven, daughter of Trigon. Relax, unlike her devil father, Raven is on our side. All of us play roles as teen heroes 'n assistants in this world full of adult superheroes like Superman and my foster father, Batman.

"It is true that the Justice League is well-organized. But there are still some places they can not handle, for example, my city, Bludhaven. The shadow from Gotham, especially from Falcone and Marrone, has spread to Bludhaven. Other cities, in the same vein, like Jump City, Central City, and so on- they are experiencing the most serious disaster throughout their histories. If Justice League can't deal with these problems, it is time for us teens to go. We need to work together and become a team. Victor Stone, I need your help."

Silence.

One minute later, Victor raised his head, smiling: "I'm in."

After that, everything became simple. Cyborg and Nightwing found other three guys. Beast Boy joined us as soon as he listened to my plan; Aqualad wanted to discuss with his king before joining us. But when we met Raven, it was not so easy.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." That was all what Raven was repeating. She was, as she said, meditating, floating in the air.

"Uh... Raven?" I hoped it was not wrong to interrupt her.

"Yes?" Raven opened one eye, staring at me. "Oh, Nightwing, I heard about you, and your team."

"So, wanna join us?"

"I don't think you know my evil father and his power which can easily destroy this planet." Raven closed her eyes.

"But we have you, right? You can help us to protect our home, and meanwhile we can help you!" I tried to show a big smile to Raven.

"Uho..." Raven sighed. "Whatever... I'm in."


	3. Chapter 1 (2)

The group's first task is to survey the Lumine Inc., the biggest technological company in Jump City, where the Justice League chose to neglect because there seemed to be considerably peaceful. However, the peace was superficial. According to the retiring staffs, it seemed that the company was doing some secret biochemistry experiment. Although Bruce didn't take these words serious, I did, and I would make the whole things come to obvious.

Here we are, on the top of the block of Lumine Inc.

"Okay, guys, listen, here's the plan." I called my friends through the interphone. "It is said that Lumine is doing illegal biochemistry experiment; well, although I've no proof, we need to get into the building and make the whole things come to obvious. If they really do the illegal things, we must bring them to justice."

"That's much easier than fighting with my father." Raven laughed.

"Nightwing, the map is done." Cyborg gave me the sign. "I've hacked the system. Now, the gate is open."

Time to go. "Thanks, Cy." Said I. "Now, guys, let's move!"

Behind the gate was darkness, only darkness. "Light, Cy." My flashlight was not bright enough to light to whole lobby. Cyborg turned on his flashlight. "Nothing seems wrong, Nightwing." Said he. "Oooh! The _emap_ shows something. It seems this building is much taller than we imagine."

"You mean..." Beast Boy did not understand Cyborg.

"This building extends underground, idiot." Raven sighed.

"Depth, Cy?" Aqualad interrupted Raven.

"75 floors under the ground, a perfect secret underground block."

"So, there must be a lift." Suddenly, I saw a black shadow moving rapidly. "Anyone saw it?" Then, the shadow disappeared.

"Saw what?" Beast Boy asked. Fine, nobody saw it. Was I wrong? "This way, follow me." Said I. "There must others besides us in this building, and I'm sure they are not guardians."

Indeed, the shadow disappeared in the end of the corridor, with the sound of electromotor following. Bingo! I was right. "Guess what is inside the wall?" I smiled. "Cy?" Cyborg inputted the password, and then the wall opened with a lift enterclose showing up.

Aqualad opened the door with his weapons. So deep! "This must be the most stable building in the world!" Said Beast Boy. With no word, I released my batcord, and jumped into the darkness. Aqualad and Cyborg followed me, grasping the rope. Beast Boy and Raven, who had the ability to fly, slowly flew down. (Alas, I really wished I could fly. Why I had no superpower?!)

When it came the end of the rope, I stopped. It was fifty-second floor underground, about 150 meters. I tried to reach the opening of lift entrance, and others got out of the enterclose, too.

What I saw next was really unforgettable: rows of huge containers with yellow liquid, long pipes, and strange objects in them; hundreds of machines were working, seeming to keep the temperature, humidity, and other factors in the containers. "They are alive, Nightwing." Said Cyborg, "My meters show that they are creatures with..." Without his voice going down, several strange and big "birds" (they were just "like" birds physically) flew over our heads. "Strange. Weird." Raven murmured. The bird-like creatures flew over us for three times, and when there came a harsh sound from the leader bird, they all disappeared. "What do you guys think they are?" Asked Aqualad, "Pterodactyl?"

"Whatever they are, I'm sure they are not normal animals on land." Said I. "This company is experimentalizing genetic creatures. These big, yellow containers are nutrient ones, and the objects inside which are still alive are embryos." If I were right, the company was secretly producing biological weapons which are prohibited internationally. "Cy, I need you to read the firm's confidential documents. Let's see if we can find anything about biological weapons."

Seconds later, Cyborg said: "Nightwing, the creatures, are not weapons. They are actually armies. Lumine is developing its own armies with genetic modified creatures, as you have seen. I've downloaded all the documents as proof." He stopped. "Wait, there's something. The meter shows that Lumine has an ultimate plan named K.R., well, I don't know what it means, but the lab for it is in the seventieth floor. We'd better go there."

It was dark in the seventieth floor. The corridor was long- even Cyborg's flashlight is not powerful enough to brighten the whole room. "There is someone else. I can sense it." Said Raven. "Keep vigilant." In the end of the corridor was a huge gate. Cyborg inputted the password. The gate opened. Jesus! Behind the gate was an empty room with only one nutrient container, and there was a man behind the glass on which there painted a big, red "Kr".

"Maybe we should call Superman?" Said Aqualad, surprisingly.

"What? Why? Or only I don't know what happened?" Said Beast Boy.

"Krypton." Raven murmured. "The chemical element; also Superman's home planet. Lumine is cloning Superman."

Aqualad said: "Cyborg, shut the machine. We gotta save this cloned Superman."

"Uh, Aqualad. To be exact, this cloned Superman is not matured. Uh, what I'm trying to say is... It is dangerous to shut the machine which provides him nutrients."

"No time to waste." I said. "Cy, shut it. Whatever, I think there must exist a link between cloned Superman and... Lex Luthor."

Cyborg turned off the machine, and then opened the glass container. Cool gas released from the glass the yellow liquid was gone. The cloned Superman gradually woke up and opened his eyes.

"Oh, hi? Uh... Superclonan?" Beast Boy was a master of name-making. "Need help?"

Superclonan- I'd better call him in this way in order not to mix him with the real Superman- said nothing, keeping moving and observing each of us. He nearly has no difference with Superman except his age. He is younger but less strong.

With no word, Superclonan ran toward us and attacked Beast Boy first. "What? Hey, it is you Kryptonean's tradition to attack your partners?" Said Aqualad before he was hit by Superclonan.

Suddenly, a shock attacked me and other team members. Damn! I paid too much attention to Superclonan so I did not see someone was behind us. I fell down, painful and faint.

"Welcome, young fellows." I heard a sound. I knew the sound! It's... "You all must have seen my new research achievement- Superboy." Said Lex Luthor.

"As I expected," That was my last sentence, "It's you, Luthor." Then what I felt were only darkness and coldness.


	4. Chapter 1 (3)

When I woke up again, I was bound on a chair. My tools were confiscated, which meant that I could not escape.

"Lex Corp has all the technology to defeat you superheros." I saw Lex walking toward me. "Even those who use magic can not escape from here." He paused. "Relax; I value your privacy, so I didn't put off your mask. I understand. No matter what superpower you have, sometimes you can't save everyone: your family, your friends, your beloveds. But a mask can. A mask hides your identity and thus it protects your family, friends and beloveds. Am I right, Mr. Nightwing?"

"Where are others?" Asked I.

"I carefully designed particular cells for each of you, to eliminate your superpower. Yours is the simplest one, and you know why." Lex laughed.

"You must be curious about why I clone Superman." He continued. "It's true that this world need Superman who is the most powerful member in Justice League. But what if he turns to evil? What if Superman wanted to destroy this planet? What if he brings earth its doomsday? There must be someone who can defeat him. Yeah. Yes. Kryptonite can defeat him, even kill him. But there is no enough Kryptonite on earth, which means that humans have no ability to protect themselves from Superman. You think other superheroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern can stop Superman? No! I have calculated that. The highest victory rate is of Lantern who gets his power from the OA planet as we all know, but the rate is just 9%. We can not defeat Superman. Even I, Lex Luthor, the most intelligent man in the world, can not stop Superman for one minute with the rare Krypton which can just make Superman feeble and powerless but still with the ability to kill me.

"Thus, I started the K.R. Plan- to clone an all-new Superman who will always obey my order. In order not to be detected by Justice League, I transferred my lab to Lumine, one of son companies of Lex Enterprise. I got Superman's DNA from his blood- it's really difficult to bleed the man of steel- and mix it with my DNA from my blood. After thousands of unsuccessful experiments, I had the embryo of Superboy. Although Superboy is less powerful than Superman, he's more intelligent than him since he has part of gene from me. And his intelligence will enable him to stop Superman.

"Now you see. I'm doing no criminal. I'm trying to save the earth."

No, you can not deceive me. I shouted, "If so, what about the genetic modified creatures? The Pterodactyls? Your can not cheat me, Lex Luthor. You are actually building an army!"

"I could not have detected you if the pterodactyls had not seen you. Only one artificial superhero is not enough. He needs assistants, doesn't he?"

"First," Said I, "Superman will never betray the planet where he grew up. And second, even if he betrays it, it would not be you who stop him. Luthor, what you want are just power, fame, wealth. You wanna control the earth, don't you?"

"Everything requires a leader." Said Lex. "You need understand."

Dear Luthor, it's a mistake for you not to undo my suit. My gloves are still working: They are my last tool with which I can escape from my cell. I got a little knife from my right glove and when Lex was backing me, I cut the rope. It was really difficult to cut such a thick rope with my, I can say, tiny knife.

Lex was still enjoying his long speech about stopping Superman, when I exerted myself to deal the rope. Lex was too confident-too confident to handle me. I successfully cut the rope. Victory!

For Lex, it was too late to find his eletrogun when I jumped forward him.

"You should have upgraded my cell rather than boast your damn plan, Lex." Shouted I when I seized his neck. "Now, tell me. Where are my friends?"

"Calm down, young fellah." Said Lex. "Calm down. I'll release your friends. But do you really think you can escape? Don't forget I still have Superboy." He smiled leisurely.

"Not any longer, Luthor." It was Raven. Goodness! It was Raven! She escaped from her cell and saved others.

"What? That's impossible!" Lex was shocked. "I... I... Designed your cells so perfectly."

"In your mind only." Aqualad came. "Remember, never look upon us."

Lex was so angry and disappointed that he shouted to his final savior. "Superboy! Come and KILL them! ALL OF THEM!"

"I don't think he will obey your orders any more." Said Cyborg. "Come, Conner, who is on our side."

"Conner? You even named him?" Said I. "Not a bad name! But how you guys calm him down?"

"That's a long story. We'll tell you after taking Lex to the Justice League cell." Said Cyborg.

Superboy appeared in the air. Like Superman, he could fly. "Lex, I forgive you and what you've done to me. And I beg your pardon, friends."

Lex was so disappointed and hopeless that he was on his knees. "At least I still have plan B. But before that, you can send me to Justice League. Well, I... Surrender."

"Call Justice League, Cy." Said I. "Tell them we've got Lex Luthor, and don't forget, without their help." This was a perfect happy ending, wasn't it?


	5. Chapter 1 (4)

"What Lex neglected is that I am able to change my dimension, which means that I'm able to transfer myself to another world in second. And then I can still go to place C." Said Raven on the way to Justice League's watchtower. "He forgot I'm daughter of devil."

"So, you released other member?" Said I.

"Yes. And after that, our new superhero came, right, Conner?"

Superboy, now Conner, smiled: "Yep."

"Fortunately, unlike Superman, Conner don't have laser power, otherwise we would have been baked by him." Raven continued. "He was so powerful that he was much stronger than all of us combined.

"That was a hard job. Cyborg used his sound wave gun to stop Superboy, but eventually one of his arms was broken by Conner. Kah-Ka-Po! ("Sorry for that!" Said Conner to Cyborg.) Which was pretty lucky, before he terminate Cyborg, I connected and entered his brain, you know, his awareness.

"His awareness is also powerful. He tried to get rid of me, but he couldn't. His awareness was glorious. When I say glorious I mean fantastic. I don't know how other Kryptoneans' brains look like, but this brain is a great one- just like another world! I was floating over the world, enjoying the somewhat strange cities, lakes, forests, and hills. Nightwing, Conner has a heart to touch the world outside. Although Lex has taught him about the real world through the machine, what he has learned is just images and words, and thus he has no idea about the real real world. He created his own real world in his awareness- that's why the cities look so strange and different.

"In the main building of the city, I found Conner. He still wanted to get rid of me.

"'GET away from my brain!' He looked pretty angry.

"I did not dare to approach him 'cause, you know, injure in one's brain is much more serious than that in reality. 'We'd better have a talk, Superboy.' Said I.

"'Okay, you said you want to talk. Then, let's talk. You said you were trying to help me, but Lex said that, too, to me. I don't trust Lex though it was he who created me. And I don't trust you as well. I even don't know who you are.'

"'Well, well, well. I am Raven, and I am the daughter of Trigon, a devil. My mother is a human, but I inherited my father's power of magic. After I was born, I was brought up on earth by my mother, but my father took me away on my tenth birthday party. He was an aggressor. And when he told me his plan, I was shocked: He wanted to destroy earth! No way. Earth is where I was born, and I'll let no one do harm to it, even if the one is my father.'

"'I had a conflict with my father, but he, the devil, never care about my feeling, continuing to attack the earth. So, I had no idea but to regard my father as my enemy and exert myself to stop him. At first, I was still too feeble and frail to slow him for a minute, but after several battles, I grew up. I became more and more experienced. I was more and clearer about my father's weakness. And I was increasingly strong as my magical power increased gradually.

"'In the last battle near the earth, I successfully stopped my father and protected the earth. I exile my father to another dimension. At least in one year he could not reach earth. However, I was still worried about my home planet, earth. So I chose to stay on earth and went on protecting it. That's my story.' I completed my whole story. Hope you guys can know more about me.

"Then, Superboy started his story which was pretty simple. He was created by Lex Luthor- exactly, he was cloned with Lex's and Superman's blood. Lex's aim was to make him less strong than Superman but more intelligent than him. That's why he can fly but has no laser eye. Also, his superpower is less powerful than Superman's. Lex used the machine to feed him, cultivate him, and educate him. But Lex has never let him to leave to lab, and "protect you from the public" is the reason. Conner was desired to see and feel the outside world, but what he can get from Lex was just a picture of Metropolis and Superman, and a variety of verbal knowledge about the world. He still has many essential things to learn.

"After that, I told him about our team. And I hoped him not to misunderstand the Justice League and Superman. Fortunately, he no longer wanted to get rid of me. He wanted me to show him the real outside world, the real Metropolis. I did it. I brought him to the real Metropolis, enjoying the real sunset on the building of Universal press. Then, his tears fell. "I've never seen such a beautiful thing in the world! What can I say?" Said he in a sense of sadness.

"'Just say thank you.' Said I. 'And now, I need your help, and I need you to come to the side of justice.' Superboy nodded. 'By the way, do you have a name?' I asked him. 'No, I'm just a tool of Lex.' He answered. 'Could Raven give me a human name?'

"'How about Conner?' Said I- it was the first name came into my mind- 'Its sound is just like your birth, K.R. How about it?'

"He smiled, leaping and laughing in the red light of sunset like a kid. 'I am now called Conner. I am Superboy.' That's the whole story. And you've already know the rest of it."

Raven finished her story. "Wonderful." Said I. "I can imagine Superman's face when he see Conner." Everyone laughed. "They are so similar."


	6. Chapter 1 (5)

"You just told me that you need assistants, but I don't remember I've ever permitted you to take action alone." Said Bruce. I was wandering along the lucid corridor in watchtower of Justice League.

"I was not alone, Bruce." Said I. "I have friends- as you see."

My pals were visiting the huge tower in space, following Green Lantern who were having his endless speech about the history of Justice League.

"You are still too young, Dick." Said Bruce.

 _What? Still too young? What are you thinking, Bruce?_ I stopped my tendency to be angry.

"But I'm proud of you." Bruce Continued peacefully. "Truly."

 _Wow, so fortunate I didn_ _'_ _t hit Bruce in face._ "Thank you." Said I.

"If you really want to set up a team like Justice League, I can help you in any way I can."

"Thanks, Bruce, I really appreciate it. But I prefer to get help from my new friends. You see, I've grown up."

"That's why I'm proud of you. No matter how you may hate me or my principle, you are, and will always be, my son."

We kept walking alone the corridor. Bruce told me: "Justice League will initially adopt Superboy. We will teach him and train him, making him a new superhero that can benefit the whole world. He still has a lot of things to learn. And I think your team is a good one, perhaps Diana and Barry will become interested in it and send their wards, Wonder Girl and Impulse, to your team."

"With my permission at first." I said complacently. "Don't forget I am the one who lead the team."

"Whatever." Said Bruce. "But remember, if you need help, I'm always on your side- that's enough, Dick." He paused, seeming to recall something. "Oh, by the way, have your new team got a name?"

"Uh... Not yet, we'll discuss about it. But before that, how about Titans?"


	7. Chapter 2 (1)

Chapter 2

With Justice League's help, we built Titans Tower in Jump City. Conner had graduated from Justice League, trained by Superman.

"I don't like him." Said Superman. "He's just a... A mixture of Lex and me."

"Maybe you are just jealous." Flash joked. "You're no longer the only one with 'S'."

"Barry, don't forget I have family. Supergirl also has an 'S'." Said Superman.

"Oh, I forgot it." Said Flash. "Then, why you don't like Conner? I think he's a good boy. Just, um, a little bit... Naive."

"He's not a part of Krypton. He's not a part of us."

"Come on, Clark." Flash patted Superman's shoulder. "I believe there is one day when you wholeheartedly accept Superboy as your friend, or a part of your family. I believe."

* * *

Impulse and Wonder Girl joined Teen Titans. Meanwhile, Green Arrow's adopted son, also his assistant, Speedy (he preferred the name Red Arrow) became one of us with Green Arrow's permission.

"Wow, the team is growing." Said I. "That's cool!"

"But don't you think the growth is too fast?" Cyborg whispered to me. "Maybe we can divide the whole team into two separate parts. One is responsible for Eastern America, and the other one take charge in Western America. I think that will decrease the team's burdens. At least, this is a large country."

"Good idea, Cy." Said I. "Indeed, by dividing our power, we can protect the whole country."

Therefore, I divided Teen Titans into two part: The first one, Western Titans, included Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and I, Nightwing, who was the captain; the second part, Eastern Titans, included Aqualad, Superboy, Impulse, Wonder Girl, and Speedy. The Eastern Titans is led by Aqualad. "Every community needs a leader." I said to Aqualad. "I know you. And I believe you are the one who will become a perfect leader. Also, Eastern America is not far away from Atlantis. Remember, take care of Conner- he's new."

Aqualad nodded, "Thank you for trusting me, Nightwing." He stretched out his hand, "My real name is Garth."

The era of Teen Titans started.


	8. Chapter 2 (2)

Life in Titan Tower was, I think, boring. I didn't know if there was any entertainment in Watchtower of Justice League, but all we could do was watching movies, playing video games, and yawning. Admittedly, it was exciting when the alarm was roaring. Yet when there was no criminal, we had nothing to do.

"Boring, boring, boring." Beast Boy shouted when he was playing chess with Raven. "Everything is boring!"

"C'mon, Beast Boy." Said Raven. "Chess requires..."

Her words were interrupted by Beast Boy who was beating the table with his head. "Boring, boring, boring! Without criminal, Teen Titans is useless! So boring!"

"Uh." Raven sighed. "Whatever. I'd better go musing." Then she entered her room and locked the door.

"Maybe you should find a way to relax, Beast Boy." Said I. "For example, I can find joy from reading."

"Reading?" Beast Boy was surprised. "Wow, I've never tried to finish a whole book."

"Perhaps that's the reason why you are not clever." Said Cyborg.

"Come on." Said Beast Boy. "Unlike you, I can't download information into my brain. I can't connect myself to the Internet."

"Uh, whatever." Cyborg was unhappy with Beast Boy's words. "I'd better go and check up my new car."

Suddenly, the alarm was on with red light. "Emergency." That was my favorite time, because I can say my well-known saying, "Teen Titans, Go!" ("Yeah! Finally it's not boring!" Beast Boy cheered.)

Teen Titans assembled, and rapidly reach the Jump City bank. The bank was robbed by five guys, but, uh, I hadn't seen them. They were new.

"Welcome to Jump City." Said I when I stopped them in front of the bank. "Do you new guys have names?"

"Wow, the Teen Titans." Said one of them. The boy was short- so small that he was like a baby. He moved with a jet-knapsack. "Sooner or later, you'll be called Dead Titans."

"Okay, as new citizens in Jump City, we'd better introduce ourselves to our new neighbors." Said the girl who seemed to be the leader. "You can call us H. I. V. E. I'm their captain, Jinx. This one, (she pointed to the baby-like boy who just talked to us) is Gizmo, our brainpower. This guy, (she pointed to a taller boy with a green helmet which had only one eye) is See-More. And thi- these men are Billy Numerous (what?! Billy could endlessly copy himself. Unfair!). And the last but not the least, Mammoth (wow, such a strong guy, but I don't think he can be smart). We are here to destroy you, all of you, Teen Titans."

"Maybe you can stop bragging." I pulled out my two short sticks. "Only experiments can testify theories." Teen Titans Go!

Unfortunately, H. I .V. E had five members while we only had four. Meanwhile, Billy Numerous was able to endless copy himself. Anyway, this is our city, and thus we must protect it.

Gizmo and Mammoth rushed at me. Billy chose Raven as his opponent; See-More chose Cyborg, and Jinx, Beast Boy. "Hello, Nightwing." Gizmo shot me with his laser gun and I had to avoid his shoot. "Why are you fleeing? I heard that you never escape." When Gizmo was shooting me, Mammoth attacked me with his huge fists. His fists were so strong that every beat could cause damage on the street. _We_ _'_ _re facing a powerful enemy._

Other were also facing problems. Billy Numerous had created so many replicas that Raven could not seize him since there was always one Billy copying himself when Raven caught him. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Raven used her magic, created tens of black bubbles which boxed up the replicas. However, bubbles were not enough. "You'd better make more bubbles, but I don't think they can be enough." Billy laughed, continuing copying himself. Indeed, there were always new Billy when old Billies were seized. "He's such a headache." Said Raven.

Cyborg was defeated as well. His sound wave gun was not powerful enough to resist See-More's light wave. "So lucky that it's not laser. Perhaps Conner could stop him." Cyborg was shot again and again. "Speed up, robot!" See-More ridiculed. "You're too slow to get me, old man!" He laughed and went on shooting, leaving Cyborg no time to react. "Today ya're lucky 'cause I won't use missiles since I don't wanna destroy the city." Said Cyborg angrily. "Unfortunately, I dare to destroy it." See-More said, and gave Cyborg the final attack. "K. O.! Oh Yeah!"

Jinx had the ability to use magic. "La la la," She sang when attacking Beast Boy. "You'd better go home, green boy." She flexibly got rid of Beast Boy's attack no matter he became a cheetah or a hawk. "Ya should shut up!" Beast Boy was annoyed. He became a T-Rex. "Roar!" Jinx smiled calmly. "The bigger, the slower." Said her. Then she shot the T-Rex with her magic laser. "Biu!" Beast Boy seemed to be shocked by electricity. "Ah!" He screeched. "This is not exciting."

"OK, Titans, get ready to become Dead Titans?" Gizmo pointed to us with his laser gun. "It may be painful."

"Look!" Suddenly, Jinx screamed. "A... A what is falling!"

"Toward us." Said Gizmo. "We'd better go and leave Titans here. At least they will die, right?"

"Chop! Chop!" H. I. V. E. left rapidly.

"Finally they go." I stood up. "Where are they from?"

"Uh, Nightwing? Maybe you should care about the meteor which is going to kill us." Beast Boy shouted.

"Raven, stop it! Or, at least, slow it." Said Cyborg.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven created a huge black protective web. "This can only slow it a little bit. It's so fact, and hot." Said her.

With the object approaching us, we started to see it more clearly. "Nightwing, my computer told me that it is actually a space ship with engine and... And a passenger!"

"Raven, do whatever you can to stop the spaceship, NOW!" I shouted. "Maybe the passenger is alive!"

Crash! The space ship which was on fire fell on the ground, making a small earthquake. Cyborg put out the fire, and I jumped onto the space ship and opened it. The door was broken. "Hello? Anyone here?" I walked in the ship, hoping to find the passenger.

I found the passenger lying on the floor. "Are you all right?" I supported it up. She was a girl, with orange skin and red long hair. "I'd better help you out of here." I supported her who was very feeble. She opened her eyes- her pupils were green. - And said something, but I couldn't understand. I was pretty sure that it was not English.

Suddenly, the alien girl pushed over me. "Wow, I was trying to help! I'm harmless." In that second, I was afraid.

However, she did no harm to me. Her face approached me, and then... She... She kissed me!


	9. Chapter 2 (3)

That second must be the longest one throughout my life. What?! This strange alien girl took away me first kiss! My first kiss! My precious first kiss! There was no girl who took away my first kiss until I met this one!

"I am Starfire." The alien girl said. "What is your name?"

"Your can speak English?" Said I. "Weird. Oh, I'm... Uh, (I'd better not tell her my real name before I make sure that she's a friend or an enemy) you can call me Nightwing."

"Oh, hi, friend Nightwing." Starfire smiled. "Let us get out here."

"Good idea." I pulled her out of the space ship.

"So slow." Cyborg complained. "And who is she?"

"This is Starfire." I introduced to the team. "And Starfire, this is my team, Teen Titans. This is Cyborg, and this, Raven, and Beast Boy. I'm their captain, Nightwing."

"Wow, wonderful!" Starfire seems excited. "Titans!"

"Uh, Miss Starfire, could you explain why you come to the earth?" Said Raven.

"Of course..." Starfire said, but she was interrupted by me. "Starfire just experienced a crash, so maybe it's better to take her to T-Tower and then listen to her story."

Back to Titans Tower, everyone was too exhausted to do anything but jump into the sofa.

"Ah, such a terrible day!" Said Beast Boy.

"Who said he would be excited when there's criminal?" Raven said.

"Okay, Titans, attention please." Said I. "Now, let's welcomes our new friend, Starfire, to tell us her fantastic story." ("Do you really believe her?" Raven asked me on the way to tower, "She's an alien! Who knows whether she is leading a huge star ship?" "I know, Raven," Said I, "but she's injured. It is our responsibility to help those in need, isn't it?" Raven sighed: "Whatever, but, anyway, I'm watching her.")

Starfire stood up and went in front of us. "Well, my story is a long one. I was born on a planet named Tamaran. My mother was the queen of Tamaran. ("So you are a princess?" Asked Beast Boy.) Yes. Indeed, but I actually was a princess- I will talk about it later. I have an elder sister whose name is Blackfire. She took care of me when I was a baby, and played with me in days and told me bedtime story at nights. Everything was wonderful on Tamaran.

"When I was seven, my mother started to educate me. We Tamaraneans acquire knowledge through kissing. ("That's why you kissed me as soon as you saw me?" I asked. "She kissed you, bro?" I heard Cyborg saying in surprise.) Yes, you are right. I needed to learn the general language on this planet. And kissing is the most convenient and fastest way for Tamaraneans to study new things.

"My sister, Blackfire, was my best friend during my childhood which was pretty sweet. But her childhood was dark: since she was crippled by a childhood illness, she was unable to absorb ultraviolet with which Tamaraneans can fly. Besides, when she was born, the Citadel Empire attacked and destroyed the western Tamaranean city of Kysarr and killed three thousand citizens in her name. Though she was in no way at fault for what had happened, she was for all time inextricably linked with that terrible day. As a result, though first in the line of succession, she was denied her birthright to be the next Princess of Tamaran to maintain the respect and prestige of the royal family. Her privileges, honors, and her royal style and dignity were transferred to her younger sister, me. I think that is the reason why she finally betrayed her family, country, and planet, and hated me so much.

"Blackfire's resentment on me grew as I grew up. At first, she was a sister; but after my thirteenth birthday when she and I were give Tamaranean's clothes (Starfire pointed her warlike costume) and sent for warrior training with the Warlords of Okaara, she was a stranger, or, I can say, an revenger.

"The first time she exposed her feeling was during a sparring exercise. On Tamaran, sparring is a good way for both improving skills and boosting friendship, so when the opponent falls down, the winner should stop and help his or her opponent up. However, during that exercise, Blackfire tried to kill me. I was hit by her and fell down to the ground. I laughed: 'You are so good, sister. You win!' I raised my hand, waiting her to pull me. However, what Blackfire did was continuing hitting me. Her fists were quick and strong. I shouted: 'What are you doing, Blackfire? Stop! It hurts!' She stopped and laughed: 'Just physically. But you hurt me mentally, which is much more painful. You took everything from me, and what I get? Nothing! I hate you, my younger sister. I hate you, and I want you to die.'

"Blackfire was stopped by the Warlords who at first thought we were just playing. 'You should have been sentenced death, but death penalty has been eliminated on Tamaran for tens of thousands of years.' Said the Warlords, 'We Tamaraneans love peace rather than wars. Therefore, Komand'r ("This is Blackfire's formal name." Starfire explained, "And mine is Koriand'r."), you are expelled. You can never return Tamaran unless there is a permission or pardon.' Expelling is the most serious punishment on Tamaran. I tried to plead for Blackfire, but she refused: 'Save your compassion, Kory. I admit the punishment. But remember, I will be back and revenge.'

"Indeed, she was back two years later. She joined and gave detailed information of Tamaran's planetary defenses to Citadel. Therefore, Citadel conquered Tamaran and captured the royal family, including me. After surrendering, I met Blackfire. 'Hello, Starfire.' Said she, 'Nice to meet you again.'

"'Why do you betray your planet, Blackfire?' Asked I, 'You are one of us!'

"'I was one of you.' She shook her head, 'but now I am not. You expelled me, remember? And I said I would be back and revenge. Indeed! I successfully revenge, with a little help from Citadel.'

"After the war, since I was a member of royal family, I was not permitted to return Tamaran, which was under Citadel's control. Otherwise, Citadel would devastate the planet for abrogating the treaty. Blackfire became my master and made the most of my bondage with years of horrific servitude and torture. 'You take everything from me.' Said she, 'And now I will take everything from you, even more.' I became her toy which she could make fun with, laugh at, and torment. Once she even sent to her servants to make fun. I resisted, and killed one of the rapists. Others were shocked and dared not to approach me.

"Blackfire was furious. 'You are my slave, Starfire.' She said angrily, 'You do what I ask you to do, and you shall never refuse! But now, you kill one of my servants. Maybe it is better for me to kill you!' She took up a edged knife, and walked toward me. I thought I was to die. But all I felt was a shock. I tried to open my eyes and I saw Blackfire also fell down. Then I felt nothing.

"It was Psions, largely a species of sadistic scientists, who attacked and captured us. They pretended to serve Blackfire, but in fact they wanted to find two Tamaraneans to complete their inhumane experiments.

"When I woke up, I was bound on the experimental platform. Blackfire was on another platform beside mine. She was awake, too. 'How dare you do this to me?' She shouted insanely. 'I will kill you! You are just my slaves. And now I want all of you to die!' The creatures said nothing, just running the experimental machines. Energy was released from the machine. We both became stronger, but still not enough to get unchained. 'Record the data from computers.' I heard one of the scientists saying, 'And be aware of them. Sooner or later, they will explode from overload.' I suddenly get the aim of this experiment- to see just how much energy our Tamaranian bodies could absorb before exploding from the overload!

"'No, you can not do this to me.' Blackfire was still struggle for escape. Suddenly, her force of releasing energy made a small blast on the starship. While the Psions were putting out the fire, I tried to loosen the belt bounding me with my starbolts (Starfire showed us starbolts: they are actually destructive blasts of solar energy), and successfully escaped. To be honest, I had never realized that my starbolts were so powerful- I think that was the result of the experimentation.

"But Blackfire was still in the lab and could not escape even though she could make chaos by attacking the starship. I indeed did not want to rescue her, who betrayed my planet and even wanted to kill me. But whatever she did to me, she was my sister. I returned to the lab, and released her, who was absorbing more and more starbolt energy painfully.

"'Sister, you are free now.' I said when freeing her. I expected her to be grateful, but she was still furious and hated me. 'Nothing will save you, Starfire.' Said she. She shot me with her starbolts. Because she absorbed much more energy than I did, her starbolt was much stronger more powerful than mine. 'What a good chance to kill you, Kory.' She laughed, 'I want to kill you so much since I hate you so much. You know what? My dear sister. I will destroy Tamaran. I will make this once beautiful planet a tomb floating in the universe.'

"I was not surprised. I should have known this before she left Tamaran. I was the princess who should be responsible for my planet. But, sadly, I failed. I was afraid in front of my sister. I ran away after shooting her. 'Run. Run. You little coward. Craven!' Said Blackfire, 'Run. Run. You have never directly face a battle, haven't you? Run! But always keep this in mind: I will kill you as soon as I find you!'

"I ran, ran, and ran. I could not feel tired- even if I could, I dared not to stop. I failed. I failed to protect my planet. The whole ship was on fire made by Blackfire. I ran to the platform of lifeships. The guards had gone, so I easily found an old ship. I got into the ship, and inputted the name of the planet that came into my mind firstly- Earth. ("Why? Why choose Earth?" Asked Raven, "Tamaran is considerably far away from Earth, isn't it?") Indeed, but in order to escape from both my sister and Psions, I must choose a planet far enough. ("And then how do you know Earth?" Raven continued asking.) On your planet, I think, exists a superhero named Green Lantern, right? (I nodded.) Yes! When I just learned to walk, a Green Lantern once landed on Tamaran. He was badly injured, and my mother asked her people to provide help. He wore a green mask and green suit with a symbol of a green lantern in the center, and he had a ring which could translate all kinds of languages into his mother tongue. I sometimes went to see him with my sister, and he told us about his mother planet which is called Earth. He said on Earth exist many superheroes with super power. And there is a powerful planetary defense called Justice League, protecting Earth for years. ("What's the name of that Green Cop?" I asked in surprise.) Oh, he told me that his name is... Hal Jordan.

"Whatever. His story attracted me so much that I had an awareness that earth is safe and beautiful and earthlings are friendly. Thus I chose earth as my destination. On the way to earth, the old space ship was out of order. I tried to fix it, but I failed. Like a meteorite, it directly fell toward earth. I thought it was my ending, but thank you, friends. It was you who saved me. Thank you. And all above is my story."


	10. Chapter 2 (4)

"Wow. That's really an amazing story. I love it!" Said Beast Boy.

"So, how's your watching, Raven?" Asked I.

"Ah. Well. I have to say... She's not lying. I can feel from her mind." Said Raven, "The whole story is true."

"Great!" I cheered, "So, Starfire, or Ko-ri-and'r. ("You can call me Kory if you like." Said Starfire.) Okay. Kory, do you want to join us? Help us to protect this planet."

"Of course!" Said Starfire, "I would like to join the wonderful Titans!"

Days with Starfire were happy ones. Titans tried their best to explain and teach our new friend about the culture and custom on Earth- not by kissing, of course. Starfire was smart, but she still had a lot of things to learn: she kept her Tamaranean mind and ideas.

One day, I was reading _Foundation_ , written by Asimov, my favorite Sci-Fic Author, in my room. Then a sound of knocking interrupted me. "Nightwing. It is me, Starfire. May I come in?"

"Sure. Come on in, please." Said I.

But what I saw next was really unexpected. Starfire came in and closed the door. I raised my head from the book, and then I screamed! Starfire... She... She was naked!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I screamed, "Starfire, could you put on some clothes? Or... Or at least," I took my sheet from the bed, "put on this."

"Why? Friend Nightwing." Starfire did not understand my behavior, "I just took a shower, and the sunlight and breeze have dried me. I do not need any towel."

"No, no, no." I wrapped her with the bedclothes, "Say nothing and put out this first."

"Thank you, friend Nightwing. But is this a special custom on Earth?"

I let her sit down, and took another seat for myself. "Well, what can I say? Uh... It is a traditional etiquette on this planet not to be naked. You know. You need to put on clothes outside. Understand?"

"Sure." Starfire smiled, "I got it, friend Nightwing." Her smile is really beautiful.

"Call me Dick." I told her my real name. "Dick Grayson."

"But, what about Nightwing?" Asked Starfire, "You told me you are Nightwing."

"Uh... Just like you. Dick is my formal name, like Kory. And Nightwing, just like Starfire, is... Not a formal name. My friend always call Dick." I made a smile.

"Oh, I understand, Dick." Her two dimples showed on her face when she smiled.

"So, now, what can I do for you?"

"Oh, I almost forgot it." S aid she, "I think maybe you can teach how to use the computer on Earth."

"There is no computer on Tamaran?"

"Yes, we have computers, but our computers are totally different from those on Earth. But we only use computers to work rather than to relax like you earthlings do. So perhaps you can teach me about the Internet on Earth."

"Oh, sure." I turned on my laptop, "It is really enjoyable to live the Internet. You know, you can search for information, play games, listen music, watch movies, and so on, with a computer linked with the Internet."

Suddenly, the alarm interrupted me. "Emergency!" I jumped up from my seat, "Sorry, Star. It seems the class has to be paused. Next time, I promise, I will teach you how to use Internet."

"That's alright, Dick. Can I go with you to deal with the emergency."

"Well. Fine. We indeed need some help. But first of all you need to put on your clothes."

"At once!" Said Starfire.

It was H.I.V.E. again. Jinx, Gizmo, See-More, Billy Numerous, and the big guy, Mammoth.

"I hate these guys," Said Beast Boy, "They are too strong."

"This time," I said, "will be different. We have Starfire, and this ensures fairness. Last time, we had a disadvantage on the number of members, but this time, everything has changed."

Teen Titans Go!

"It seems that you Titans survived in the disaster!" Said Gizmo.

"Glad to see you too." This time I must bring these guys to the justice; I swear. I clenched my fists, staring straightly at Gizmo.

Passersby in the street, after seeing us, quickly ran into the buildings. Titans were quite well-known in the city, but battle, at least, is a battle. No one, even we, want to get injured. Some seemingly brave young men took photos with their cellphones; without a guess, they would send the photos on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and so on, announcing that they have the first-hand news about titans and their new enemy.

Raven took Jinx, I took Gizmo, Beast Boy took Billy, Cy took Mammoth, and Star took See-More - that's my plan.

Back to the street. In the field of engineering, Gizmo, just like his name, is a genius; he always has new ideas. His suit was greatly upgraded: much quicker and much easier to control. God, I sort of missed Bludhaven the criminal of which are much weaker. "How can you be so forgetful?" Said Gizmo while attacking me with the lone mechanic arms of his suit, "Can't you remember last time? Titans versus HIVE? Titans fell and HIVE rise?"

"Really?" I said, "You sure? 'Course this time you seem as weak as a plant- a moving plant like, uh, Dionaea Muscipula."

"Not bad!" Said Gizmo, "Flytrap. I know it. Quite funny, but wrong simile. Wait. Maybe you're right. Guess what? If I'm the flytrap, what are you, little ugly fly?" He started to attack with laser gun. Damn, his weapons were too powerful. I could not fight directly against the laser beam. He meant to kill me when I always obeyed Bruce's creed- no killing.

Dick, you can not die in a situation like this. Even a engineering genius like Gizmo must be able to make mistake, or have some weaknesses.

Wait.

Weakness.

I can still recall my training with Bruce. One lesson is weakness. Batman told me that everything and everyone, even he, has weakness; even though he hided his weakness deeply, he could not deny the fact that Batman, protector of Gotham, still has weakness.

So, where is Gizmo's weakness? _The biggest weakness is hiding behind the most powerful part._ So said Bruce. Yes, the power of Gizmo came from his high-tech suit, which meant that his suit is his weakness. Let me guess, with all its arms undone, will the suit still be moving?

I quickly threw three batarangs. He promptly stopped the batarangs. "Too slow, little fly!" He laughed, "Maybe you need to train with your bat daddy again?"

"Don't you think I did that because I wanna your attention?" It was me who kept laughing when Gizmo started to realize he could no longer control his suit since I cut the line inside the metal suit with a small batarang, invited by Bruce.

"Surrender." Gizmo fell down, "I yield."

"Without this suit, you are no body, man." I said like a winner- like I always did.

Starfire was born as a fighter besides as a princess. I have to admit that Tamaranians are all well-trained fighter and, which is kind of weird, peace lover- about this point I'll explain more in the future.

The alien princess bravely fight against the laser eye of See-More, throwing her starbolts. "I tried to be friendly, but you injured me!" She seized See-More and gave him a right hook.

Raven and Beast Boy were well corresponded. Beast Boy attracted Billy- Billies- to Jinx, when Raven used her magic to fight back Jinx's magic electric wave. The wave suddenly beat Billies and turned them back to Billy himself. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Now Raven's bubble trick worked. The bubble successfully stop Jinx and Billy. "On your face, bro!" Beast Boy flaunted in front of Billy. "The world is so much better when you shut up." Said Raven.

Cyborg versus Mammoth was just like WWE. Fighting, fighting, and fighting. Eventually the robot won. Simple, right?

"Boo-Yah!" Said Cyborg, "that was too simple."

"Just to you, Cy." Said I .

Justice League would deal with the criminals we caught, but I still had something to ask.

I seized Gizmo. "WHO PAID YOU?" I even could not control my temper. These guys almost destroyed the whole city, home of those innocent people. "TELL ME! SAY IT!" I beat him in face angrily and almost killed him if Starfire did not stop me. "Nightwing, stop."

Gizmo laughed. "You are smarter than I thought. Indeed, someone paid us, and his name is Slade."

"Slade? Who is he?" I wanted to ask for more, but Green Arrow arrived. "You all did a good job, kids. Saving this city and protecting it. Well done." He took the HIVE to Justice League's prison.

"Any idea about this Slade?" Several days after the attack on HIVE, at one night, Starfire asked me.

"Still no." Said I.

"You have been working for night and night." Said her. "We are worry about you. All of us."

"I searched every single piece of news, record, even hacked the computer in Batcave. Nothing. The only thing I know is Slade wanted to kill us and destroyed the city, and we must bring him to the justice."

"We will, Dick." Said Star. "We will find Slade and bring him to justice. But before this you need a bath and a sleep." She kissed me. "Good night." Then she left.

I smiled. Who knows what would happen to me and this pretty princess? Fine, perhaps Star was right, and I indeed need to sleep.

But a beep interrupted me. It was an email. I opened it; it was from Bruce.

The letter was short- only one sentence, but the words were still powerful enough to shock me:

Dick, Jason died.


End file.
